1. Field of the Disclosure
The following is directed to an infiltration process and more particularly an infiltration process for forming earth boring drill bits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Earth boring drill bits are frequently used to form wells in the earths crust in search of natural resources, such as oil, gas, geothermal reserves, and water. The formation of such wells can be accomplished, by the use of different types of drill bits, including for example, rotary drill bits or fixed cutter drill bits. Current fixed cutter drill bits can be complex mechanical components having particular designs including certain arrangements of cutting elements at the exterior surface of the drill bit, blade orientations and designs, and fluid flow passages extending through the bit to allow communication of drilling fluids from associated surface drilling equipment through a drill pipe attached to the drill bit. Moreover, the drill bit is typically made of a combination of materials such that it has suitable mechanical properties to survive the rigors of drilling applications.
A variety of processes have been used to form one or more components of such drill bits, including sintering processes, hot pressing processes, and infiltration processes. Sintering is a process of bonding adjacent metal powders by heating a preformed mixture to induce chemical and/or physical changes in the materials used to form the components. In particular, sintering involves the introduction of a mixture of a refractory compound and binder material, which are placed in a mold and heated until the two materials are bonded via diffusion bonding or liquid phase material transport mechanisms. Hot pressing can utilize forming temperatures lower than sintering and high pressures to affect formation or joining of components to form drill bits. Drill bits may also be formed by an infiltration process in which a matrix powder material is infiltrated by a molten binder material at high temperatures through capillary action and gravity. In such processes, the binder material may have a low melting temperature in comparison to binder materials utilized in sintering, and thus the process may utilize temperatures that are lower than sintering. However, infiltration processes can be time consuming and encourage a host of other problems ultimately resulting in insufficient formation of the drill bit.